Telephone customers oftentimes have key telephone equipment that enables the customer to have multiple telephone lines appear on a telephone set so that the customer using the telephone set may originate or answer a telephone call on any telephone line. In other telephone set configurations, the customer may have various telephone lines coupled with all or selected ones of the telephone sets. In addition, the customer may also want telephone lines to have various line features, such as call forwarding, call waiting, call transfer, ring selection and others, that are available at a telephone switching system serving the customer telephone lines. A customer may also request that various ones of the customer telephone sets be equipped with buttons that provide button features, such as privacy, speed calling, call hold and others. Such customer key telephone systems may comprise a combination of non-button and single, six, ten, thirty or more button key telephone sets.
A customer may, from time to time, want to add or remove telephone lines coupled with various key telephone sets. In addition, a customer may also want to add or delete line features to various ones of the telephone lines and to add, delete or rearrange various button and line features associated with each button of the customer's key telephone sets. Systems interconnected with telephone switching systems are available for use in enabling customers to add, delete and change telephone line features for a given customer telephone line. Telephone line features are available at a telephone switching system and are associated with telephone lines. These systems typically provide a data base customized for each customer and contain information about telephone line features available for customer use and which the customer can access to add, delete and change telephone line features for the customer telephone lines. A problem arises in that although a customer may change telephone line features, the customer must contact the local telephone company and place an order requesting the telephone company to install button features that are associated with each customer key telephone set rather than the customer telephone line thereby causing a delay in time when the button features are available for customer use. The telephone company responds to the customer's order by preparing a service order which is sent to and instructs the telephone switching system maintenance force to install the ordered button features for the customer's use.